


Welcome to Glenrock, Wyoming

by darkmoore



Series: Private life [1]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Gen, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-08
Updated: 2015-01-08
Packaged: 2018-03-06 16:42:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3141476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkmoore/pseuds/darkmoore
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a classic: the meet at the grocery store ...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Welcome to Glenrock, Wyoming

**Author's Note:**

> This is the ‘how they met’ part of the Private life series. Until today I hand't even realized that I hadn't put the series on AO3, yet. I'm gonna change that right now. I'm gonna warn you however, those are just glimpses into their life and the stories are not being written in chronological order. 
> 
> Thanks to my betas: ca_pierson and theshadowpanther

John smiled as he passed the sign that read: _“Welcome to Historic Glenrock. Big enough to enjoy – small enough to care.”_ It was good to be back for the holidays and John felt the last tension bleed out of him as he once more entered the town that held so many fond memories for him. It was the place where he had spent his happiest times back when he had been a child and John made sure to return every year, if only for a few weeks. A lot had changed since then but John still knew most of the residents of Glenrock, had grown up with them and the tales they told. Here, in this small town at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, he was – and would always be – just Johnny, and not John Sheppard, TV star. 

It was exhilarating. 

For eight weeks there would be no getting up at 5 am, no endless make-up sessions, no styling products clogging his hair, no learning lines, or doing takes late into the night. John was on vacation, and that meant he could wear his most comfortable clothes, sleep in, and do whatever he pleased. The most strenuous thing John planned on doing was spending some time playing golf. Okay, and maybe hike a bit. 

It was still early enough in the season that the town wasn’t clogged with tourists yet. John knew he could be himself without having to dodge paparazzi at every corner or having to fear to be caught doing something his agent really didn’t agree with. Not that there was much John usually did Elizabeth wasn’t pleased with. Though the mere thought of doing anything he liked without having to fear that she would read about it in the yellow press the next day was enough to make John feel freer than he ever felt when he was at home and working. 

Grinning, John parked his car in front of the small supermarket where he wanted to get some supplies. John knew he wouldn’t get anything fancy, seeing that ‘Kimberly’s’ was little more than one of those mom-and-pop stores. But in a town as small as Glenrock, no superstore was needed anyway, and John would still get everything he needed. Of course, the cabin John’s family owned – and that was now John’s personal hideout – was well stocked with canned food, but John wanted some fresh things. It was an often-practiced and well-loved tradition to do it this way – John could remember how his mother had loved to wander through the small store, chatting with people and just enjoying the opportunity to be able to go shopping herself.

Sometimes John thought that the simple things, like grocery shopping or cooking, were what made his mother happier than anything else about the family vacations. After marrying business tycoon Patrick Sheppard, a man who had staff for everything, his mother hadn’t had a lot of opportunities to bake or cook any more. Patrick had made it clear that with her status as his wife, it just wasn’t befitting that she prepared meals herself when he had a cook employed. The family vacations in the cabin in Glenrock had been his way of making amends to his wife. Patrick Sheppard surely had never seemed to enjoy the absence of the comforts he had gotten so used to over the years. 

Pushing those thoughts away, John made his way into the supermarket, his mind already on what he wanted to purchase as he took a shopping cart. Some lettuce and tomatoes, meat, a selection of fruits and vegetables, and of course some soft drinks and beer. As soon as John had stepped through the door, he was greeted warmly by Mr. Kimberly, the shop owner the moment he stepped through the door. 

It was good to be there. John felt welcomed and accepted in a way he usually missed at home. It was the familiarity of it all that made it so easy for him to relax. It was quite strange how the fact that he had known most of the people in Glenrock his entire life could have such an impact on John’s mental state.

John generally didn’t get to do his shopping himself, and he, like his mother, really enjoyed the experience. Smiling, he pushed his shopping cart to the small corner where the vegetables and fruit were kept. There, he stopped the cart and moved along the row slowly. He hadn’t made a real list of anything apart from inside his head, so he got an iceberg lettuce that looked particularly appealing, some of the cherry tomatoes, a cucumber, peppers, and some celery. Satisfied, John dumped the food into the cart that he’d left in the middle of the aisle. The shop was dead during these times of the day – and during off-season – which, for John, was another reason why he loved coming there so much, apart from the excellent quality Mr. Kimberly’s grocery always carried, of course. John carefully inspected every apple and orange he put into his bag for maximum appeal, because seriously, he was in no hurry, he had all the time in the world.

But when John turned around, he hit something that he was sure shouldn’t be there. John stumbled back a step from the impact, almost losing his hold on the bag, surprised at the change. Where his cart had been only moments before, there was a rather surprised looking guy, one hand on John’s cart, another cradling at least a dozen Powerbars that were spilling onto the ground as the guy tried to keep his footing.

One corner of his mouth was turned down and John couldn’t decide it was because he was pissed at him or if it was always like that. The most noticeable thing about the guy was most probably his eyes though. Huge, blue eyes that were glaring at John accusingly as the man snapped at John, “Can’t you watch where you’re going? Or has that ridiculous hair of yours melted your brain? First you block off the whole aisle, trapping unsuspecting passer-bys like me and then you run them over. Is that some elaborate trick of yours? I’ll be bruised spectacularly by tomorrow. I should sue you. Do you even know who I am? No, of course you don’t, how could you possibly know who I am? You could have killed me with your carelessness and where would that leave the world, deprived of my genius?” 

The guy’s hands were soaring through the air agitatedly, and John had to suppress a grin at his antics. It was strangely endearing to see this man – whoever he was – getting all riled up over a harmless little collision like this. But before John could even reply anything at all, Mr. Sarcasm paled and took a hasty step back, almost toppling over, but he barely managed to stay on his feet instead of landing on his ass. 

“Are those oranges? Get them away from me. You’re really trying to kill me, aren’t you? That’s just so typical, I’m going on vacation for the first time in eight years and instantly someone is trying to kill me with fruit. I’m highly allergic to anything citrus, so if you don’t want for me to suffocate and die a horrible, horrible death you should put those away right now.” 

The guy was getting more and more agitated by the second and John placed the fruit carefully into his abandoned shopping cart and turned to face Mr. No-citrus again. John really needed to get to know this guy’s name, he couldn’t keep calling him Mr. Sarcasm or Mr. No-citrus, not even in his own head. 

“I’m sorry Mr. …” John finally said, waiting for the guy to fill in the blank. 

“It’s Doctor. Doctor Rodney McKay. And you better help me pick this up,” came the annoyed answer and as John watched, Dr. McKay crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his chin in a very stubborn manner. 

“Of course I will, Dr. McKay,” John replied, trying very hard to keep the amusement out of his voice. For some strange reason he liked this guy. His sharp tongue and the look in his eyes did peculiar things to John’s insides. “And I assure you that I didn’t mean to trap you or give you bruises. I just wasn’t expecting anyone else here this time of day. It’s usually pretty quiet until the season starts,” John explained as he crouched down and began to pick up the Powerbars that were scattered all over the floor.

“I know it’s usually ‘pretty quiet’ until the season starts, it’s why I’m here right now after all. Do I look like I’m keen on running into dozens of annoying people? But of course with my luck I get _run over_ by you. I’ve not had enough coffee by far to be able to deal with that. Now gimme back my Powerbars and go away,” Dr. McKay made a grabby motion with his hands and John handed the energy bars back to him. 

“So, you’re staying here for longer and aren’t just passing through?” John found himself asking. He didn’t know where that question had come from. It really wasn’t his business what this stranger was doing with his time. 

Dr. McKay seemed to agree with John’s – unvoiced – thoughts, since a frown appeared on his forehead. He snapped, “Well, it’s actually none of you business, but if you must know, I’ve rented a holiday house not far from here. So yes, I’m staying for a while. If you could take that cart of yours out of my way now so I can leave, that’d be good. I really need coffee.”

No sure what to reply to that, John pulled the cart to the side and watched in fascination as McKay walked away without another word or a glance back. Wow. That was a first. Apparently Dr. McKay had not only not recognized him, he’d also been refreshingly forward and brutally honest. That _certainly_ was a first. A really welcome change to all the false politeness John had to deal with on a daily basis. 

John grinned. He really needed to find out more about that Dr. McKay. Somehow John had a feeling that the guy could really be fun.


End file.
